KATHMANDU: Chairman of Lok Dal Kaushal Kumar Singh said the first draft of the constitution failed to protect the rights of other backward classes, Muslim, Janajati, Madhesi and women and hence if the final draft was prepared on the basis of the first draft, these communities could not accept the new constitution.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Singh said the ‘and’ provision in the citizenship clause could render many Madhesis stateless. He said OBCs should also have quota under the proportional representation election system. Federal constitution sans federal units, Singh argued, will amount to a betrayal oft Madhesis, who struggled hard for federalism. Singh said the drafters of the constitution had done injustice to other communities by only defining the Khas Arya group.

Meanwhile Lok Dal issued a press release here today demanding retention of the proportional representation system that exists in the Interim Constitution. The party also demanded a lingua franca status for Hindi language.